Ahmedabad old city
The historic heart of Ahmedabad is the old city, an area of about three square kilometres on the east bank of the river, dissected by the main thoroughfares of Relief Road and Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road, and reaching its northern limits at Delhi Gate. It’s best to start exploring in the Lal Darwaja area, taking in the squat buildings of the original citadel, Bhadra, the mosques and tombs of Ahmedabad’s Muslim rulers, as well as vibrant bazars and pols – labyrinths of high wooden havelis and narrow cul-de-sacs.
Bhadra Fort and around
The solid fortified citadel, Bhadra Fort, built of deep red stone in 1411 as Ahmedabad’s first Muslim structure, is relatively plain in comparison to the city’s later mosques. The palace is now occupied by offices and most of it is off-limits (some of it, at the time of writing, due to renovation work), but you can climb to the roof via a winding staircase just inside the main gateway. Across from the fort to the east is Alif Shah’s Mosque, gaily painted in green and white. Further on, beyond the odoriferous meat market in Khas Bazaar, is Teen Darwaja, a triple gateway built during Ahmed Shah’s reign that once led to the outer court of the royal citadel. A trio of pointed arches engraved with Islamic inscriptions and detailed carving spans the busy road below.
Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque
Famed for the ten magnificent jali (lattice-work) screens lining its upper walls, Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque sits in the centre of a busy roundabout. Built in 1573, the two semicircular screens on the western wall are its most spectacular, with floral designs exquisitely carved out of the yellow stone. The stonework within depicts heroes and animals from popular Hindu myths – one example of Hindu and Jain craftsmanship influencing an Islamic tradition that rarely allowed the depiction of living beings in its mosques. Women cannot enter this mosque, but the gardens around it afford good views of the screens.
Ahmed Shah’s Mosque
Small but artfully simple, Ahmed Shah’s Mosque was the private place of worship for the royal household. Sections of an old Hindu temple, perhaps dating back to 1250 AD, were used in its construction – hence the incongruous Sanskrit inscriptions on some of the pillars in the sanctuary. The zenana (women’s chamber) is hidden behind pierced stone screens above the sanctuary in the northeast corner.
Jama Masjid
The spectacular Jama Masjid, completed in 1424, stands today in its entirety except for two minarets destroyed by an earthquake in 1957. Always bustling, the mosque is busiest on Fridays (“Jama Masjid” literally translates as “Friday Mosque”), when thousands converge to worship. The 260 elegant pillars supporting the roof of the domed prayer hall (qibla) are covered with unmistakeably Hindu carvings, while close to the sanctuary’s principal arch a large black slab is said to be the base of a Jain idol inverted and buried as a sign of Muslim supremacy.
Immediately outside the east entrance of the mosque, the square Tomb of Ahmed Shah I, who died in 1442, stands surrounded by pillared verandas. Women are not permitted to enter the central chamber, the site of his grave, or those of his son and grandson.
Manek Chowk
The jewellery and textile market of Manek Chowk is filled with craftsmen working in narrow alleys amid newly dyed and tailored cloth. Further into the market, to the east, and surrounded by the dyers’ colourful stalls, is the mausoleum of Ahmed Shah’s queen, Rani-ka-Hazira. Its plan is identical to Shah’s own tomb, with pillared verandas clearly inspired by Hindu architectural tastes.
Mosque of Rani Sipri
The small, elegant mosque of Rani Sipri was commissioned in 1514 at the queen’s orders, when her husband ordered the execution of their son for reasons not fully understood. Her grave now also lies in front, sheltered by a pillared mausoleum. The stylish mosque, also known as Masjid-e-Nagira (“Jewel of a Mosque”) shows more Hindu influence than any other in Ahmedabad: its pillared sanctuary has an open facade to the east and fine tracery work on the west wall.
Shaking minarets
The minarets are all that remain of the Sidi Bashir mosque, built in 1452, which was named after one of Ahmed Shah’s favourite slaves. More than 21m high, these are the best existing example of “shaking minarets” – built on a foundation of flexible sandstone, probably to protect them from earthquake damage – once a common sight on Ahmedabad’s skyline, and now useful protection against the vibration of nearby trains.
Hathi Singh Temple
The Jain Hathi Singh Temple is easily distinguished by its finely carved columns. Built entirely of white marble embossed with smooth carvings of dancers, musicians, animals and flowers, this serene temple is dedicated to Dharamnath, the fifteenth tirthankara, or “ford-maker”, one of 24 great teachers sanctified by the Jains.
Calico Museum of Textiles
The Calico Museum of Textiles displays India’s finest collection of textiles, clothes, furniture and crafts. Highlights of the morning tour include exquisite pieces made for the British and Portuguese, an embroidered tent and Shah Jahan’s robes from India’s royal households. There are patola saris from Patan and extravagant zari work that gilds saris in heavy gold stitching, bringing their weight to nearly nine kilos. Other galleries are dedicated to embroideries, bandhani tie-and-dye, textiles made for overseas trade and woollen shawls from Kashmir and Chamba. The afternoon tour includes the galleries of pichwais and other temple paintings and decorations, including Jain statues housed in a replica haveli temple and centuries-old manuscripts and mandalas painted on palm leaves.
Dada Hari-ni Vav
Northern Gujarat abounds with remarkable step-wells – deep, with elaborately carved walls and broad flights of covered steps leading to a shaft – but Dada Hari-ni Vav, just outside the city’s old northeast boundaries, is among the finest. While it’s a Muslim construction, built in 1500, the craftsmen were Hindu, and their influence is clear in the lavish and sensuous carvings on the walls and pillars. Visit around 11am when the sculpted floral patterns and shapely figurines inside are bathed in sunlight. Bai Harir’s lofty mosque and lattice-walled tomb stand just west of the well, while a couple of hundred metres north of the complex is the neglected Mata Bhava-ni Vav, probably constructed in the eleventh century, before Ahmedabad was founded. It’s profoundly Hindu in character, and dedicated to Bhava-ni, an aspect of Shiva’s consort Parvati.
Sanskar Kendra Museum
The Sanskar Kendra Museum is worth a visit, covering subjects such as the history of the city, urban growth, sociological development and the activities of Gandhi and the freedom movement. The Patang Kite Museum in the basement showcases the city’s Kite Festival – the world’s largest.
Sabarmati (Gandhi) Ashram
The Sabarmati Ashram is where the Mahatma lived from 1917 until 1930, holding meetings with weavers and Harijans as he helped them find security and re-establish the manual textile industry in Ahmedabad. In keeping with the man’s uncluttered lifestyle, the collection of his personal property is modest but poignant – wooden shoes, white seamless clothes and a pair of round spectacles. The ashram itself is no longer operating, but many people come here simply to sit and meditate.